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Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:24 am
by Ruutu15
The best breed of dog finally gets it's due! I have two Beagles...the best dogs ever.

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Beagle Is Top Hound at Westminster Dog Show
By RICHARD SANDOMIR

Of the many breeds that have never won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show is the beagle. Through 131 previous editions, no beagle has celebrated what terriers have more than 40 times.

Have all of Snoopy’s efforts at beagle hegemony gone for naught?

On Monday, at Madison Square Garden, a nearly 3-year-old, 15-inch-tall beagle named Uno took one small step toward the coveted title for his breed by winning the hound group, the first beagle to do so since 1939.

Eddie Dziuk, one Uno’s owners, could not explain why a beagle, whether 13 or 15 inches high, has never reached the summit. “Others this special,” he said, looking at Uno after his victory, “are few and far between.”

Uno, or Ch. K-Run’s Park Me In First, was the sixth-ranked dog in the country last year, according to Dog News, after a toy poodle, an Akita, a standard poodle, a Sealyham terrier and an English springer spaniel.

On Monday night, he defeated 25 other dogs, including a long-haired dachshund, a harrier and a whippet.

“He was his usual self,” said Aaron Wilkerson, his handler, as Uno relaxed contentedly in his arms. “Perfect, as always.”

At some point when he shows, Uno bays, for no reason other than to say his piece. It was more of a croon than a bark that he emitted from the green carpeted floor of the Garden. And he did it several times.

“He bayed at the judge,” Wilkerson said. “He does it on his own. He’s saying to the judge, ‘Look at me.’ So he just plants his feet and bays away.”

The judge, Ralph Lemcke, said he had no memory of being bayed at. But he said he will remember Uno, whom he had never seen before.

“This is one of the best hounds I’ve ever seen,” he said. He, too, had no explanation for Westminster’s best-in-show beagle shutout.

A Sealyham terrier has won it all at Westminster four times, the last time in 1977. Charmin, or Ch. Efbe’s Hidalgo At Goodspice, with a beard, mustache and a fall of tousled hair between his eyes (a coiffure adapted for tussling in the dark with badgers), defeated 27 terrier colleagues to reach Tuesday’s finals.

“Charmin is so close to the standard of Sealyhams,” said Margery Good, his nearly breathless handler and co-owner. “He has strength without coarseness. He’s forward-moving and he’s consistent. He’s just so elegant.”

She added, “Everything I asked her to do, she did — in spades.”

Charmin is dubbed after the toilet paper, unusual even in the wacky world of doggie nicknaming. “The first co-owner had coarse-coated dogs, and she said he was so fluffy and squeezably, wonderfully soft,” Good said. “When she passed away, I didn’t have the heart to change it.”

Remy, the standard poodle officially named Ch. Brighton Minimoto, won the nonsporting group, as expected, given that she was the third-ranked dog in the country. A standard poodle last won in 1991.

She glided around carpet, her mouth agape, and if you wanted to believe she was expressing her joy at impending victory, so be it.

“Her grandfather always had a smile,” said Chris Manelopoulos, her handler who grew up among toy poodles in Melbourne, Australia, and now lives in Greensboro, N.C.

Remy, as in Remy Martin, wears a cream-colored coat that is clipped into canine topiary. She won her breed competition Monday morning after four hours of primping.

Remy’s face, throat and long muzzle are shaved but she has a well-sprayed Rick Springfield-like helmet of fluffy hair and thick, feathered ears. Soft fur covers her chest and back, but elegant clipping yields a half-pompon on either side of her shaved hips. Her tail is a cotton candy pompon.

Thick bracelets (more pompons) of carved fluff expand like small tennis balls from the lower portions of her legs, which are otherwise shaved.

Her stylized, Victorian appearance to the contrary, Manelopoulos said, “She’s a real tomboy. She’s not a prissy dog.”

If a Las Vegas oddsmaker is correct, she could win it all.

In his second year of Westminster odds making, Johnny Avello, director of race and sports operations at the Wynn Las Vegas, sets odds on breeds’ chances of winning, not on particular dogs. He gave the standard poodle the best odds at 25-1. The toy poodle came in at 28-1, the German shepherd at 30-1, the Welsh corgi at 35-1, and the Sealyham at 40-1. Do not look for a pooch betting window; Avello’s odds are just for fun.

Deuce, a rambunctious Australian shepherd, won the herding group, an upset over the German shepherd ranked seventh in the country. The 4-year-old winner, Ch. Vinelake Collinswood Yablon, returned to work last month after a year’s sabbatical to give birth to a litter of nine. “It’s a dream come true,” Collins said. “She never ceases to amaze me.”

Source

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:16 pm
by the knob
Ruutu15 wrote:Uno, or Ch. K-Run’s Park Me In First, was the sixth-ranked dog in the country last year, according to Dog News, after a toy poodle, an Akita, a standard poodle, a Sealyham terrier and an English springer spaniel.
Wow, someone with a geekier spreadsheet than OS! :lol:

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:29 am
by Ruutu15
He won Best IN Show. Also, he's from Columbia, MO.

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:12 am
by BF44
Ruutu15 wrote:He won Best IN Show. Also, he's from Columbia, MO.
I thought he was from Belleville?

http://www.bnd.com/breaking_news/story/254903.html





Damn, did I REALLY just post in a dog show thread????? :moran:

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:44 am
by kodos
I would f*** that little beagle so hard...

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 1:44 pm
by cprice12
BF44 wrote:
Ruutu15 wrote:He won Best IN Show. Also, he's from Columbia, MO.
I thought he was from Belleville?

http://www.bnd.com/breaking_news/story/254903.html
He is from Belleville.
Uno is owned by Kathy Weichert of Belleville, who operates K-Run Kennels in Belleville.

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 1:56 pm
by Blueline29
cprice12 wrote: He is from Belleville.
Ah, that explains why I kept seeing him all over the news at the gym.

As for best breed? I dunno....I think you can't go too wrong with one of these:
Image

:)

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:32 pm
by Allblues555
Blech. I'm so sick of Yellow Labs. That's all everybody has. Why get what everyone has?

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 2:44 am
by Blueline29
Allblues555 wrote:Blech. I'm so sick of Yellow Labs. That's all everybody has. Why get what everyone has?
Having grown up with German shepherds and Labs, I will never have a dog that's not one of those 2 breeds. Ever.

That's all I'm sayin'. :)

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:16 am
by cprice12
Allblues555 wrote:Blech. I'm so sick of Yellow Labs. That's all everybody has. Why get what everyone has?
I have a black lab and a yellow lab.
I've never seen a breed of dog that is so affectionate, loyal, loving, obedient, smart, etc.

Great, great dogs.

Why wouldn't someone want one?

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:40 pm
by Ruutu15
cprice12 wrote:
Allblues555 wrote:Blech. I'm so sick of Yellow Labs. That's all everybody has. Why get what everyone has?
I've never seen a breed of dog that is so affectionate, loyal, loving, obedient, smart, etc.
You must have never had a Beagle. :wink:

I do love Beagles, but labs are cool too. I like all dogs, really.

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:39 pm
by Allblues555
cprice12 wrote:
Allblues555 wrote:Blech. I'm so sick of Yellow Labs. That's all everybody has. Why get what everyone has?
I have a black lab and a yellow lab.
I've never seen a breed of dog that is so affectionate, loyal, loving, obedient, smart, etc.

Great, great dogs.

Why wouldn't someone want one?
Just b/c they are so familiar. Other breeds have their interesting quirks as well.

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:21 pm
by big d note
I think 90% of the dogs in Colorado are labs. I've had 2 co-workers with labs, and one was borderline autistic or something and obsessed with tennis balls, and the other is neurotic and slobbers all over himself if left home in his crate. Now that I think about it, one of my friends in high school had a lab that was dumber than your average Red Wing fan. There seem to be a lot of weird/stupid labs from inbreeeding.

The mutt I had growing up was part beagle and used to howl at sirens. Very cool and smart dog.

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:40 pm
by SIU LAW
You have to be careful with a dog like that.

You can't board it. It gets upset, its hair falls out.

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 6:45 pm
by Ruutu15
SIU LAW wrote:You have to be careful with a dog like that.

You can't board it. It gets upset, its hair falls out.
He's not taking your turn, I didn't rent him shoes, dude.

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 8:47 am
by Allblues555
big d note wrote:I think 90% of the dogs in Colorado are labs. I've had 2 co-workers with labs, and one was borderline autistic or something and obsessed with tennis balls, and the other is neurotic and slobbers all over himself if left home in his crate. Now that I think about it, one of my friends in high school had a lab that was dumber than your average Red Wing fan. There seem to be a lot of weird/stupid labs from inbreeeding.

The mutt I had growing up was part beagle and used to howl at sirens. Very cool and smart dog.
You can't hold poorly bred/raised dogs against the breed in general, you have to look at its ideal. I have found well-bred Labs to have a number of positive traits. They are smart, athletic, energetic, and loyal. Great hunting/hiking dogs. However, there are deficits, they can have too much energy, or be poorly acclimated in an urban environment because of it. They can be voracious barkers, which is annoying to me at least. They are slobery, which turns me off, at least.

Both of my dogs are whippets. I love this breed because they have short hair (no shedding) are very elegant and beautiful, very loyal, kind, breed tends not to bark, no aggressive tendencies, work well off-leash, very quiet around the house (low energy), and the best part is that they are speed machines when chasing down a frisbee or a rabbit. But they have negatives, their skin is paper-thin, they are sensitive to extreme temperatures, they can be "skittish," they certainly are not "guard dogs" in any sense of the word.

And that's just two breeds I've talked about, there is a whole rich world of dogs and dogs breeds out there. I think a person should really consider all types and breeds of dogs, and should restrain from calling any one breed "the best."

To Blueline29 I would suggest looking at the Rhodesian Ridgeback, that seems like a Lab-like dogs, but cooler in every one of those dimensions (including intelligence). Having known all breeds would be a good reason to love Labs & Shepherds, but having known only these two (growing up with them) sounds awfully short-sited.

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:02 am
by Allblues555
http://www.quiztron.com/tests/know_dog_ ... _13506.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:o

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 12:59 am
by ViPeRx007
The only dogs I've ever had are Boxers. They are awesome dogs. In total, I've had four and each one has had it's own unique personality. We just lost our last one a couple of weeks ago so it's still a little weird around my house. It's amazing how different things feel without a dog running around.

Re: Uno, the first Beagle to win at Westminster

Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 12:21 pm
by STL JA
Ruutu15 wrote:
SIU LAW wrote:You have to be careful with a dog like that.

You can't board it. It gets upset, its hair falls out.
He's not taking your turn, I didn't rent him shoes, dude.

I didn't order him a (franking) drink.